Definition of a spinaker

but they aren't quick with wire luffs !!!.....boring and slow 

what i don't gte with kites with wire luffs is.....how do they come down into the chute?

is there a special system?

Originally posted by Strawberry I mearly meant to spark a discussion as to what defines a spinaker, rather than say, any other headsail.

From a racing point of view, in general RRS 50.4 defines the difference quite precisely (except for your example of a Cherub). I quoted it in an earlier post. Basically, a jib or genoa is more or less triangular, while a spinakker is "fat" in cross section. Any other restrictions come in via class rules. So for example, while you might expect a spinakker to be made from nylon, there was experimentation with mylar film spinakkers for yachts in the late 80s (very pretty but they didn't really work) and some AC boats use spectra spinakkers of huge price.

If you want a real example of muddied waters, consider the Code 0 headsail which were carried by a lot of VO60 boats. They measure as spinakkers, in order to get around a ban on masthead jibs in the class,  but they "look like" big genoas made of laminate and are designed for close reaching. http://www.quantumsails.com/download/dispatches/Code_Zero.pd f is a good read.

Edited by Stefan Lloyd

pro wannabe... you say that your laser 2 kite is regulation size yet longer and thinner? it's a one design so surely it should be exactly the same as all the others. not sure they'd be too happy at the nats with an odd shaped kite to be honest

Go on strawberry, stick a code zero on your cherub, we could do with a laugh...